Growing Darkness, Flickering Light
by FleurHartz
Summary: Voldemort comes up with a new plan to destroy Harry, and this one involves his seven closest friends. As Harry must conquer seven tasks to save their lives, his friends desperately search for a means of escape from Voldemort's clutches. Includes action,
1. Default Chapter

Voldemort paced through the room in the sprawling warehouse that was completely concealed by magic to the outside world.  
"Is everything ready, Wormtail?" He asked impatiently.  
"Of course, master, of course." Wormtail said, shivering with anticipation.  
"And you will have our seven prisoners to me tonight, correct?"  
"Yes, yes, I will." Wormtail said respectfully.  
"Wonderful. And Harry I would like arriving tomorrow morning, is that clear?"  
"As crystal, master."  
"All right, start preparing the charm to bring the prisoners."  
"Yes, master." Wormtail hurried off, stumbling slightly over the hem of his robes.  
Voldemort smiled slightly, clasping his hands together.  
"This should be interesting." Voldemort said, the same malicious smile spreading over his distorted features.  
~*~  
"I'm exhausted." Ron Weasley complained, burying his head in his hands.  
"You've got to study if you want to pass the test tomorrow, Ron. This our N.E.W.T. year, and I won't have my boyfriend failing them all." Hermione smiled affectionately at him.  
"Fine, fine. But you know, if I did awful, it would just make your scores look better." He smiled winningly at her.  
"Nice try. Now study."   
Ginny Weasley walked by the couple who were sitting at one of the window seats in the Gryffindor common room.  
"You two are so cute." She sighed, grinning at the pair of them.  
"Can we help you, Gin?" Ron said, grinning back.  
"Just wanted to tell you that Caroline told me Quidditch practice is going to run late tonight, so Harry won't be back until a little later tonight." Ginny said. Caroline was one of the new Chasers on the Gryffindor team.  
"So I can't escape studying until he gets back?" Ron sighed.  
"Not a chance. No best friend to bale you out.." Hermione said in a mock commanding voice.  
Ron sighed heavily, rolling his eyes.  
Ginny said good-bye, and headed off. Hermione kept reading over her notes, then suddenly put them down again.  
"Okay, I'll even admit this is boring. Want to do something else?" She sighed.   
"Like what?" Ron cocked an eyebrow at her.  
Hermione rolled her eyes.  
"Don't get your hopes up. I'm just tired of studying."  
Ron suddenly grabbed her shoulders, looking at her with mock seriousness.  
"Who are you, and what have you done with my girlfriend?"  
"Still me. It's just…I know practically all this already. What's the point in reading it again? And you're still doing fine in your classes, even though you hardly ever study. And I'm bored!" Hermione said, exasperated.  
"Okay, this is new. But I like it." Ron shrugged, smiling.  
Hermione had loosened up considerably since her younger years, but this outright declaration of boredom was definitely a new standard.   
"Let's go watch Harry's Quidditch practice…the match for the cup against Slytherin's next week, and I want to make sure they don't let us down." Ron suggested.  
Hermione looked at her notes once again, as if trying to convince herself of something.  
"Fine." She said, waving a hand dismissively at their schoolwork, and they set off hand in hand.  
But something very strange happened to Ron and Hermione the second they started to step through the portrait hole. They disappeared completely.  
~*~  
"Gin! Guess what?" Kelly, Ginny's best friend for years, raced into their dorm room.  
"What?" Ginny asked, looking up from her copy of Witch Weekly.  
"Matthew Anders is going to ask you out for a private evening at Hogsmeade! Like a date!"  
"Thanks for the clarification, Kel." Ginny said, uninterested.  
"Ginny, this is Matthew Anders! He's the best-looking guy in the sixth year!"  
"Yeah…I guess." Ginny said quietly.  
"Oh, are we still stuck on the famous Harry Potter?" Kelly said, exasperated.  
"Yes." Ginny said quietly, falling back on her bed.  
"Gin, you have got to get over him! I mean, I know you two are friends and all, but I mean, come on! You've had a crush on him for at least six years! Come on, Gin, really--"  
But Kelly stopped talking, and nearly fell over in shock. Because Ginny suddenly disappeared right out of her bed.  
~*~  
Harry flew high above the rest of his Quidditch team, overseeing his team with a proud smile on his face. He was the captain this year, since it was his seventh year and all on the team. He watched as his three new Chasers, three third year girls, executed the play exactly as he had instructed.  
"Perfect, Courtney, Emma, Caroline! That was perfect!" He congratulated them, flying down a little bit.  
"Thanks, Harry." Emma said, smiling widely.  
"No problem." He smiled back, feeling a sort of fatherly pride for these three girls, since he had helped them since he had been their captain since their second year, and it was nice to watch them grow into better and better players.  
"All right, good practice everyone!" Harry said, leading the team back to the ground.  
He walked back into the castle, talking to Jake, one of their new Beaters who was a fifth year, about Slytherin's strategies. But as they entered the castle, he felt a strange, sudden twinge in his scar.  
"What the…" He clapped a hand to it as the pain suddenly grew intense.  
And before he knew what had happened, he collapsed.  
~*~  
When Harry awoke, he was in the hospital ward, his scar burning painfully. He was surprised to see Dumbledore there.  
"Hello, Harry." Dumbledore said, his tone grave.  
"What's the matter, Professor?" Harry instantly knew by Dumbledore's expression that something was terribly wrong.  
"Harry…stange disappearances have occurred tonight. And by your scar hurting, we assume that Voldemort must be connected."  
"D-Disappearances?" Harry asked quietly.  
"Yes, Harry. Ron and Hermione were seen leaving the common room through the portrait hole. But before they exited the common room, they disappeared completely. Seconds later, Kelly Phillips saw Ginny Weasley vanish right in front of her eyes in their dorm. In the Ravenclaw common room, Cho Chang was studying in a corner when she disappeared as well. Hagrid was walking with Professor Flitwick when Hagrid disappeared as well. We don't know how these disappearances occurred, but they were not the work of apparation, because according to my sources, none of these people are anywhere in Hogwarts or the surrounding grounds. I fear that Voldemort himself may have taken them."  
Harry looked at Dumbledore in horror.  
"No…" He said faintly.  
"I'm afraid so, Mr. Potter. Voldemort may have used some sort of summoning charm to perform this deed, he's capable of producing one that would be powerful enough. But before we begin our search for them, precautions must be taken for yourself, Harry. He may very well try to--"  
But Dumbledore couldn't finish his sentence. Because Harry was no longer there.  
~*~  
Ron woke up, his head hurting and a dull pain in his right arm. Where was he? The last thing he remembered, he was walking with Hermione out of the common room. And then…he didn't remember anything else. Suddenly, he was struck with a thought. Where was Hermione? Was she hurt?  
"Hermione!" He yelled, looking around desperately.  
He seemed to be in some sort of jail cell, a small cell that was lined with metal bars.   
"I'm right here, Ron." He heard a familiar voice.  
Whipping around, he was beyond relieved to see Hermione in the cell next to him.  
"You're okay!" He said, putting his hand through to grab hers.  
"What happened to us, Ron? Where are we?" She said, her expression full of fear.  
"I don't have a bloody clue. One minute we're at Hogwarts, the next minute we're….well, wherever we are now."  
Faintly, they heard someone screaming, and Ginny was suddenly in the cell next to Ron's. Pale as a ghost and still screaming, Ginny sat up, gripping the bars of her cell.  
"Gin! Calm down!" Ron said, looking at his sister in shock.  
"Where are we? Where are we? Where are we?" She sputtered, shaking slightly.  
"We don't know anything more than you do, Ginny." Hermione said softly.  
At that moment, Cho Chang materialized in the cell next to Ginny, Hagrid appeared in the cell next to Hermione, and Sirius and Lupin appeared in the two cells across from the row of students.  
Utter confusion occurred as everyone tried to figure out where they were, why they were here. Everyone started looking desperately for a way out. Ginny and Cho both started crying, Ron started kicking at the jail cell; frustarated, Hermione sat there in silent shock, and Sirus and Lupin desperately started trying to figure out why they were here.  
"Wait! Shut up everyone!" Hermione suddenly said.  
Everyone grew quiet, looking at Hermione.  
"Isn't this obvious, why we're here?"  
Not that obvious to everyone else, apparently, because they still gave her blank looks.  
"We're all connected to Harry somehow. This is Voldemort's work. We're the collateral in one of his typical evil schemes. Probably the way he'll make Harry cooperate with doing something."  
Everyone fell silent. That made sense, in a horrible, twisted way.  
"Bloody hell." Sirius said quietly, and that seemed to sum up everyone's feelings.  
~*~  
Harry reappeared in a room that was completely black except for a single spotlight focused on him. Blinking in the bright light, he stumbled to his feet. Why was he here? Why was his scar burning? WHAT was going on? Suddenly, he heard a disembodied voice. But he recognized it instantly. Voldemort.  
"Hello, Harry! How wonderful to see you again." It said mockingly, echoing in the seemingly huge room.  
"What do you want? Why have you taken me here?" Harry yelled.  
"Simple, Potter. To kill you."  
Harry yawned.  
"Do you ever get new material? Seems like I've been hearing that line all seventeen years of my life."   
"SILENCE!!" The voice reverberated through the room, it's tone furious.  
"So what's the plan this time?" Harry asked.  
"It's really quite interesting, Mr. Potter. It will be great fun to watch this."  
"Keep talking." Harry said.  
"All right, here's why I've taken you here. You will perform seven tasks, much like the ones you'll remember from your fourth year. But these tasks have a much different purpose-they are designed solely for your extinction."  
"Okay…" Harry said, trying to disguise his slowly growing fear.  
"You will perform each of these seven tasks, and when and if you finish, I'll kill you anyway."  
"So…why not just kill me now and get it over with? Seems as though it would save you a lot of trouble." Harry said sarcastically.  
"Oh, this is much more fun. My happiest moments are when you're suffering, dear boy."  
"Well, you can't really make me do the tasks, if you think about it logically. You can't force me to." Harry said, shrugging.  
"You're correct, Mr. Potter. I can't make you do them. But unless you want to be responsible for seven murders, you'd better do them and do them well."  
"What are you talking about?" Harry said, his shaking voice betraying his calm exterior.  
"Wormtail…bring them out." Voldemort clapped his hands, appearing suddenly on a tall platform as a spotlight shone on him as well.  
A slight whirring sound was heard that grew increasingly louder. To Harry's astonishment, the ceiling was splitting into two separate halves. As the opening grew larger, seven barred cells were lowed from the ceiling on chains, all spotlighted as well. Harry's heart nearly fell out of his chest as he saw who was in them.  
Ron, Hermione, Cho, Ginny, Hagrid, Sirius and Lupin were the cell inhabitants. And they all looked terrified.  
"Harry!" Ginny exclaimed as they came fully into his view.  
"You can't do this." Harry said through gritted teeth to Voldemort.  
"Yes, I can. And I have. It goes like this, Harry. You fail at a task-I pick one of them to die. Horribly. While you are chained down and forced to watch. You die during one of the tasks-I kill all seven of them." Voldemort smiled cruelly.  
Harry looked up into their faces. Ron was trying to look brave, but the expression of terror in his eyes was not hard to see. Hermione's mouth formed a thin line as tears spilled down her cheeks. Ginny was clutching the cell bars, wearing an expression much like Ron's. Cho was crying openly. Sirius looked at Harry with a worried expression. Hagrid was looking defiantly at Voldemort. Lupin's expression was completely unreadable as he stared off into the darkness.  
"I can't believe this..." Harry muttered, his head racing with jumbled thoughts.  
"Believe it, Mr. Potter. Wormtail will lead you to your sleeping quarters. I'd get plenty of rest, because you wouldn't want to slip up in your first task tomorrow. You might never see one of them again. And don't try escaping, I've put in every precaution. And that goes for you as well, prisoners." He waved a hand towards them, looking excited.  
Harry watched as their seven cells were lifted back into the room in the ceiling. Anger and fear swirled through him. How was he ever going to escape this and rescue them? Was that even possible? What was he going to do?  
  
A/N- Harry's in quite a predicament, eh? What did ya'll think? This idea just randomly came to me today, and I thought, hey, sounds like it would be a cool fic. Please REVIEW, that makes me very happy. Love to all, ~FleurHartz~  



	2. Flip the Switch

Growing Darkness, Flickering Light Part II  
Flip the Switch  
  
"But it's nearly time to flip the switch  
And I'm hanging by a single stitch  
Laughing in the stormy face of gloom…"  
Crowded House, "Instinct"  
  
Harry awoke the following morning, and it took him a moment to remember why he was here and what he was going to have to do today. Then he remembered, and his heart fell out of his chest. Things looked so hopeless. If he won, he died. If he lost, he and all his closest friends died. But there had to be some way…some way to get out of this. But for now, all he needed to concentrate on was saving one of his friend's lives today. Whatever he had to do, he was not letting any of those seven die.   
Wormtail entered his sleeping quarters at that moment, a dark room with barred windows and a cot.   
"Good morning, Mr. Potter." He smiled cheerfully, acting as though this was just as every-day as a butler bringing his master breakfast.  
Harry looked at him with a steely gaze. Suddenly, Wormtail's smug expression seemed to infuriate him. He leapt at him with a roar he did not know he could produce, but as he went to throttle him around the neck, it was as if an invisible wall pushed him away. Harry hit the ground with a thud, face burning with humiliation.  
"Now, now, Harry. That temper of yours! My master suspected you might try something of that sort, and I have been properly protected. So, no more attacks all right? Let's keep things moderately civil." Wormtail wagged his finger at Harry, infuriating him even more.  
"CIVIL?? CIVIL??? This isn't a bloody tea party!! Things stopped being bleeding civil when you kidnapped my seven best friends and me!! " Harry bellowed.  
Wormtail looked unfazed.  
"Tea sounds quite good right now, now that you've mentioned it. Perhaps I'll make a cup to watch you perform your task and one of your friends die a gruesome death."  
"You're so sure I'm going to fail." Harry said angrily.  
"Yes, I am, Mr. Potter. Now, if you'll follow me." Wormtail smiled, motioning for Harry to follow him.  
Harry muttered furiously under his breath, trying to get his nerves under control.  
Wormtail looked back at him.  
"Mr. Potter, you kiss your mother with that mouth? Oh wait, that's right. You don't have a mother."  
Harry felt such an anger inside of him that it literally felt as though his blood was boiling. But he knew Wormtail was looking for a reaction, and he wasn't giving him that. He stayed silent, gritting his teeth.  
Wormtail led him back into the huge room he had been in yesterday, and like yesterday, it was completely pitch-black. When they entered, a spotlight once again shone on them.  
"Are you expecting a song and dance number or what?" Harry asked as Voldemort entered from his high perch up on the wall.  
"Very amusing, Mr. Potter."  
"Thanks, I've been considering stand-up if this whole wizard thing doesn't work out." Harry smiled sarcastically.  
"Enough with the bantering, Potter. It is time for your first task."  
"Doesn't bantering usually involve both sides of the conversation providing witty dialogue? Because I wasn't hearing much from you."  
"SILENCE!!" Voldemort roared, his patience growing thin.  
Harry held up his hands in mock surrender. Sarcasm was proving an easy mask for the fear steadily growing inside of him.  
"Here is the way things will go. I will give you five minutes to speak with the person who will die if you don't complete the day's task. I would consider final farewells, Potter. Then Wormtail will lead them away, and you will come back here for today's task."  
Harry didn't say anything.  
"Ready to say good-bye to one of your friends?"  
"I'm not going to fail." Harry said icily, knowing that Voldemort was just letting him see his friend so it would be harder on him if they died and that was infuriating him.  
"Oh, yes, Potter, you are. Wormtail, lead him to the farewell chamber."  
"The Farewell Chamber? Cheeeesy." Harry rolled his eyes.  
He could see Voldemort's eyes flash an even brighter red from his ledge high up on the wall. Wormtail seized him roughly by the forearm, leading him to one of the rooms off to the right. Pulling a key from his robes, Wormtail unlocked and opened the door, and revealed the first person to die if Harry failed. Sirius Black.  
Sirius looked up as he came in the room, expression somber.  
"Five minutes, Potter." Wormtail said, leaving.  
"Sirius…I don't know if I can do this." Harry said, his voice choked.  
"Of course you can, Harry. You've faced far worse."  
"I've never faced losing all of you."  
"Harry, don't even think about us. Just concentrate on what you have to do, and get it done. I'll find some way to get you and all your friends out of here. Trust me, Harry. Trust yourself." Sirius said, his face masking any emotion.  
"I can't not think about the possibility that I might murder the seven people I care the most about!" Harry exclaimed.  
"I know it's hard, Harry. I can't even imagine being in your place through all this. But if one of us dies, Harry, you aren't the murderer. Voldemort is."  
"I know, but, indirectly, I'd be killing you." Harry said quietly.  
"But that's not going to happen." Sirius said determinedly.  
"What if I mess up? Everyone just expects that it will all turn out okay as long as I'm here, but that's not true! I can make mistakes, stupid mistakes that could end up killing one or all of you!" Harry said, his eyes glassy.  
"Harry, all we ask is that you try your best."  
"Sirius, this isn't a bloody Transfiguration test! If I fail, you die!" Harry yelled, his voice full of emotion.  
"It's all right, Harry. You can do this." Sirius walked over, and hugged Harry as a father embraces his son.  
"You the closest thing to a father I've ever had, Sirius. I couldn't live with myself if I let you die."  
"You know you're like a son to me, Harry, and I know you well enough to know that you have courage enough to pull this off." Sirius said firmly.  
Wormtail opened the door at that moment.  
"Time to go, Mr. Potter. You come with me, Black."  
"Didn't you used to call me Sirius?" He said scathingly, looking disdainfully at the man he had once called his friend.  
Wormtail didn't reply, just gave Sirius a smug look, leading him off.  
Harry was left alone for a moment in the room that was painted in a medical sort of looking white color. His heart was racing, his palms sweating. You can do this. He heard Sirius' voice echo in his head. He refused, right then and there, to let Sirius die. It just wasn't an option. Gripping his fingers into fists, Harry took a few steadying breaths.  
Wormtail came back in.  
"Ready to see Black die?" He asked him, grinning as if they were about go play Monopoly.  
"Ready to see me prove you wrong?" Harry said, plastering a fake grin on his face.  
"We shall see, Mr. Potter. We shall see."  
"Nice touch with the cryptic there. I'm shaking, really."  
"You need to learn to keep your mouth shut, Mr. Potter."  
Not really feeling like talking anymore, Harry went silent and prepared himself for what he was about do. Wormtail led him down a dark corridor that was lit by torches every few steps. An eerie silence seemed to mask the hallway, it seemed as though the outside world no longer existed.  
Finally, they reached a large oak door covered in intricate snake carvings. Wormtail fumbled for a key in his pocket, and opened it. A huge room that was surrounded with green-tinted pillars lay before them. Two enormous doors were in either far corners of the room. And Sirius was chained in a glass-encased cell in the farthest, darkest area of the room.  
"Mr. Potter, so nice of you to join us." He heard Voldemort say, stepping out of the shadows.  
Harry looked over at Sirius, who seemed to be working hard not to look afraid.  
"The task will begin the moment I descend into the upper chamber of this room. The creature you must defeat will be coming from that door. Around it's neck will be a key to open the other door, which will lead to a switch. The switch will stop the flow of water coming into your friend's cell, and he will not be drowned. You must break the cell and free him, also with that key before fifteen minutes are up, or you fail and he dies."  
"Do I get a weapon or anything?"  
"Oh, if you're going to twist my arm." Voldemort smiled wryly, taking out Harry's wand and throwing it to him.  
Harry caught it quickly, staring back at Voldemort with a steely expression.  
"I'm ready." Harry said tightly.  
"I can hardly wait." Voldemort smiled softly, going up to a raised platform in the corner of the room, and it slowly ascended to the upper chamber, where he and Wormtail would watch.  
Harry stood in the darkness of the room, practically shaking. The door that held the creature began slowly opening, creaking ominously. Harry braced himself, his hand gripping the wand so tightly he feared it might snap in two.  
A light came from the room behind the door, and Harry watched as the creature stepped out. An exquisitely beautiful woman who stood about six feet tall stepped out of the room. She wore a dress of gold silk that flowed over her curves perfectly. It glittered brilliantly as she walked into the room. Harry nearly laughed out loud.  
"This is the best you've got? What's she going to do, blind me with that dress?" Harry said to Voldemort.  
"Looks can be deceiving, Mr. Potter." Voldemort's cold voice resounded through the room.  
Harry looked at her again, and it slowly dawned on him what she must be. A veela. Of course, he should have known that right off. He started to feel the usual veela power sink in as she walked closer. His mind started going a little hazy, and a wide, stupid smile spread across his face. She smiled as well, revealing perfect white teeth. Still smiling, she pulled a glittering sword from a scabbard over her shoulder.  
This seemed to snap Harry back to reality. He reacted quickly, lunging towards her and knocking the sword out of her grip. Hitting the ground rolling, Harry got up, now holding the sword within his grasp. She lay on the ground, breathing heavily. The veela turned to face him.  
"Zat…was a mistake." She said in an oddly calm voice.  
And before Harry's eyes, wings began to sprout out of her back and her beautiful mouth grew into a beak. Her crystal blue eyes turned a flashing red, and flapping her wings slightly, she was raised a few feet above Harry.  
Harry couldn't help but feel a slight tremor of fear. Veelas looked truly horrifying in their original form. He grasped the sword nervously, waiting for the right moment to strike.  
She breathed in deeply, exhaling with a slightly blissful noise that ended in a sort of hissing. And then, with a roar of rage that nearly knocked Harry off his feet, the veela flew straight at him, knocking him onto his back. He pushed the sword roughly up at her, and it struck her forearm. Blue-silver blood poured from it, and she roared again…an inhumane roar that seemed to shake the room. Harry sprung to his feet again, readying for a second attack. She held up her hands, which slowly grew into deadly claws. Flying towards him again, she dodged Harry's sword, and slashed him across the chest. Harry felt his chest stinging with pain, but he ignored it, and came at her with the sword again. She deflected it with her claws, roaring even louder.  
Landing on the ground, they engaged in what felt like a very strange fencing match. She came at him relentlessly, and every move he attempted with his sword was deflected by her razor sharp claws. Finally he was backed up against the wall, pushing her clawed hands back with the sword that he held with both hands horizontally. She roared again, his ears almost aching with the horrible noise.  
Suddenly, her face morphed back to it's original form. Her claws disappeared, and her wings disappeared within her back. She grabbed the sword from his hands, throwing it and it clattered to the ground. When Harry made a move towards it, she grabbed him by the shoulders and did something very strange. Kissed him.  
Harry was immediately overcome by a very odd, but strangely pleasant feeling. The full veela power surged through him, and he felt like he was drunk. The image of her was blurred in front of his eyes, and he felt as though he was leaving his body. Not that he really minded…  
"Harry!!!" He heard a sudden gurgling voice.  
It was Sirius. The task!! Sirius' voice seemed to jolt him back to reality, and he pulled away from the veela's lips, kneeing her in the gut. She fell back with a high-pitched scream, and looked as if she was going to morph again. But before she could, Harry grabbed the sword and plunged it into her heart. With one last withering scream, the veela died.   
Harry got on his knees next to the corpse, yanking the necklace off her neck. It had a key on the chain, and he raced towards the other wooden door, casting a desperate look towards Sirius. The water line was right under his eyes, Sirius was now just holding his breath. He didn't have much time. Pushing the key into the lock, he heard it click. Blood soaked through his shirt as she ran into the room. It was a very long hallway, and at the end, a switch. Harry raced towards it, trying to ignore the weakening pain from his chest wound. His feet going faster than he could have ever imagined, Harry reached the switch, and pulled it triumphantly. But he still had to break the cell's walls if Sirius was going to live.  
Harry raced back, about to collapse from exhaustation, and seized the veela's sword from her lifeless body. He ran towards Sirius' cell, and slashed the sword towards the glass. The metal instantly shattered the wall, and a wave of water poured over him, knocking him onto his back. Sputtering slightly, a drenched Harry pushed himself up against the force of the water, and stepped slowly towards Sirius. He put the key into the lock binding Sirius' hands, and heard the click once again. The chains fell off of him, and Sirius threw his arms around a shivering, soaked Harry.  
"Well done, Mr. Potter. You saved one pathetic life and slaughtered my prize veela." Voldemort stepped back onto platform, lowering it back to the ground.  
"Didn't you have an expendable veela or something I could've fought?" Harry joked weakly.  
"Congratulations on surviving your first task. You have my word that they will only grow in difficulty." Voldemort snapped his fingers, and Wormtail went towards Sirius, waving his wand and pulling Sirius behind him. Sirius probably could've disabled it, but he was still catching his breath and smiling at Harry.  
"I knew you could do it, Harry." He said, still taking in ragged breaths.  
Harry smiled back, and suddenly felt Voldemort's ice cold hand on his arm. His scar felt like it had suddenly ignited. It had been burning dully ever since he arrived, but now it felt like someone was holding a lit match to it. He grimaced, determined not to cry out.  
"One of your friends survived, Mr. Potter. And perhaps others will. But when you reach the tasks you must do to protect Mr. Weasley and Ms. Granger, I assure you-you will fail. And they will die. Just as your parents did, screaming for my mercy. But it will not be given to them."  
Harry could barely hear him, his head was throbbing so badly. But he got the idea however, and felt his relief at the completion of the first task marred by the fact that Voldemort was basically implying that Ron and Hermione were going to die.  
~*~  
Back in the prisoners cell, everyone was sitting in their cells, feeling a mixture of boredom and fear. Cho was twisting her long dark hair around a finger, looking aimlessly off into the distance. Lupin was sitting in the corner of his cell, looking terrified. His best friend might be dead right now and he wouldn't even know. Hermione and Ron were talking quietly, about really nothing at all, just something to distract them. Ginny was listening quietly, still very pale. And Hagrid paced madly around his cell.  
"I want ter get some brandy." He finally said, raking a hand through his crazy mess of hair.  
"You and me both, Hagrid." Ron chimed in, grinning weakly.  
Just then, the door opened, and Wormtail walked in, followed by Sirius.  
"You're alive! He did it!" Lupin leaped up, happily.  
"Back in your cell." Wormtail said roughly.  
"All right, all right, rat boy." Sirius muttered, stepping back into his cell.  
"So, I just have one question. If Harry does all seven tasks, do we just get let go?" Cho asked Wormtail.  
Wormtail looked at her for a moment, and then laughed. He gave no other response, leaving the room, still snickering.  
"I think you should take that us a no." Ron said grimly.  
Sirius told them all about the task, and they all listened with rapt attention.  
"Poor Harry…I can't even imagine." Ginny said softly.  
Ron looked over at Hermione, a serious expression on his face.  
"We've got to find a way out of this place. Or we're all going to die."  
She looked at him sadly.  
"I know, Ron. But there's always a way. Always a light at the end of the tunnel, you know?" She smiled weakly.  
"And we're going to find it." He said, taking her hand through the bars.  
~*~  
  
A/N- Whew! The first task out of the way at least! Coming up soon…the second task (surprised?), R/H start searching for a way out, some H/G and much later, an appearance from the perennial leather pants wearer, in fanfic anyway. Don't know who I'm talking about? Think really hard… Hehe, it's all to come, my friends. Please review! Love to all! ~FleurHartz~   



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